USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania > Part 18
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Mr. Hamot held responsible and honorable offices under the government; being at one time Canal Commissioner, and at another Superintendent of Public Works at Erie. He was the first cashier of the Erie Bank and one of the principal stockholders. As a business man, he was fortu- nate, and noted for his activity and energy in the prosecu- tion of his plans, and for sound judgment. He engaged warmly in politics, his sympathies and feelings being with the democratic party ; and his politeness and hearty hos- pitality won for him many attached friends. Mr. Hamot was twice married : to Adeline Woodruff, of Lewiston, New York, in 1818, who died in 1821; and to Elizabeth Col- trin, widow of Dr. Asa Coltrin, and daughter of George Keefer, of Thorold, Canada, in 1825. He died October 17th, 1846.
CAPTAIN DANIEL DOBBINS was born near Lewistown, in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, January 5th, 1776. He came to Erie with Esquire Rees's party of surveyors in 1795,
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when all was a wilderness. In July, 1812, while lying with his vessel, the Salina, at Mackinaw, he was taken prisoner by the British, it being his first intimation that war had been declared. Having landed the night before on the north side of the island, they took possession of the fort and the ves- sels in the harbor. R. S. Reed and William Reed, of Erie, were on the Salina as passengers, but were dismissed on parole. Captain Dobbins was also allowed to return home.
In Chapter XV. is found an account of Captain D.'s services in forwarding the construction of the squadron in 1813; and that through his discernment and perseverance Erie became the naval station.
While in the navy as sailing-master he was also engaged in the merchant service. He had command of the Wash- ington in 1816, which the same year conveyed troops to Green Bay, and was the first vessel which had entered that harbor, it being a difficult task to navigate it. On this first visit, Washington Harbor was called for the vessel; Boyer's Bluff, for Colonel Boyer, who was aboard; Chambers's Island, for Colonel Chambers, aboard; Green Island, for an officer of the name aboard; and the Captain's own name, Dobbins, was given to a small group of islands.
In 1826 Captain D. was ordered to sea in the vessel fitted out to bring home the remains of Commodore Perry, and resigned his commission. In 1827 he was engaged in con- structing piers at Ashtabula. In 1829 General Jackson appointed him to the command of the revenue cutter Rush, to which he was reappointed by President Polk in 1845, and he left active service in the revenue department in 1849.
Captain Dobbins was possessed of sterling qualities, and being a close observer, recorded many interesting incidents connected with the navigation of the lakes and life on the frontier. He died at the age of eighty, February 29, 1856.
THOMAS HALE SILL. - Among the early residents of Erie, and belonging to that set of men who found it a fron- tier settlement in what was then the distant West, and of
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those who devoted their energies and talents to the build- ing up of the place, the development of its resources, and the welfare of its inhabitants, the name of Thomas H. Sill may well be mentioned.
A daily familiarity with the city and harbor, their natural advantages and all the improvements which skill has devised and industry added, may indeed cause the present genera- tion to forget the unremitting and varied exertions, extend- ing through the past half century, by which those advant- ages, now regarded as a matter of course, were first developed and secured.
Of the men who during this period thus actively exerted themselves, hardly a survivor remains; and a history of Erie County would be incomplete were no mention made of them.
Mr. Sill having in early life selected Erie as his home, and become identified with its people and interests, and having for nearly half a century participated in the vicissi- tudes, hopes, struggles, and triumphs always incident to a settlement through the various steps of its progress and development into a city, the very incidents or events of the life of such a citizen are inseparable from and part of its history.
We give, therefore, from the Erie Gazette next succeed- ing Mr. Sill's decease, the following biographical notice :-
" This gentleman, who closed his earthly career at his residence on Sixth Street last Thursday evening, was the senior member of the Erie County bar as well as one of the best known and most esteemed citizens of northwestern Penn- sylvania. He had so long and conspicuously figured in the affairs of this section of the State, and particularly of our city and county, that his name had become a household word-and seldom was that name mentioned without deep- seated respect. Aside from his qualifications as a lawyer, which were of the first order, he possessed traits of character calculated to inspire universal regard and admiration. His deportment was unassuming yet dignified, his disposition
Eng 2 by SIL Pattre, NY
Thomas While
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kind and accommodating, his general course of conduct based upon principles of acknowledged integrity. As a husband he was attentive and affectionate, as a father kind and indulgent, as a neighbor generous and sympathizing, as a citizen active, honest, and true. In short, in all the rela- tions of life, whether as a lawyer, legislator, friend or neigh- bor, he exhibited a commendable spirit of interest in the welfare alike of the county, State, and country, ever sus- taining his endeavors to promote and secure the same by a strong and well cultivated intellect and ready and effective eloquence.
" Mr. Sill was born at Windsor, Connecticut, on the 11th of October, 1783. His father, Captain Richard L. Sill, served in the revolutionary war, and occupied an honor- able position in his day. Graduating at Brown University, in September, 1804, and his health failing him, he traveled in the Southern States and made a voyage to the West Indies-at intervals, as health permitted, studying law. Com- pleting his law studies with the Hon. Jacob Burnett, of Cincinnati, in 1809, he commenced practice in Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio. His health again failed, and after going back to Connecticut and returning to the West as far as Pittsburg, he was induced to locate at Erie, then a naval station, where he arrived in July, 1813, and remained until his death. From 1816 to 1818 he held the office of Deputy United States Marshal. In 1819 he was appointed Deputy Attorney-General for Warren County, and was present at the opening of the first court-practicing from that time until a recent period in the several courts of Erie, Warren, and Crawford Counties. The confusion occasioned by the burning of the court-house, with the records, in 1823, in- duced a general movement in favor of sending him to Har- risburg in the capacity of a representative. In compliance therewith he relinquished his practice, and represented the district during the session of 1823-24. By dint of earnest effort he procured the passage of an act remedying the
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losses and inconveniences resulting from the destruction of the county records, connected with an appropriation from the State to assist in rebuilding the court-house. He suc- ceeded Hon. Patrick Farrelly in Congress in 1826, and was re-elected in 1828-being at that period the only anti-Jack- son member from Pennsylvania. He declined a re-election at that time. He was appointed President of the United States Branch Bank in 1837, and held the office to the close of the existence of that institution. At various times he was elected burgess of the then Borough of Erie, and for nearly thirty years filled the office of trustee of the Erie Academy ; ever exhibiting a deep interest in the educational affairs of the city and county. He was elected in 1836 to the Con- vention to amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania-a body composed of the ablest and best men in the State-men like Forward, Sergeant, Meredith, Chauncey, Chandler, and Rei- gert-and it is due to his memory to say that in this body he acquired and maintained a position of commanding in- fluence. He was chosen Presidential Elector in 1848, and, in accordance with the expressed voice of the State as well as his own preference, voted for Taylor and Fillmore. Fee- ble health having, in a great measure, incapacitated him for the laborious practice of his profession, he was appointed postmaster of Erie by President Taylor, on the 16th of April, 1849. President Fillmore reappointed him, and he continued to serve until June, 1853. He died February 7th, 1856, ' full of years and full of honors.'
"Mr. Sill was confessedly one of the first members of his profession. He excelled particularly as an advocate, never failing, by his clear logic, smooth diction, strong sympathies and unvarying candor and courtesy, to produce a deep im- pression, and frequently carrying the jury with him against the instructions of the court and the apparent law of the case. In this respect he had few if any superiors, and was always considered a dangerous competitor in the prosecu- tion of important suits. Taking him all in all, he was a
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great and good man, enjoying the confidence and respect of all classes of society, and dying without a known enemy. He leaves a family consisting of his esteemed consort, four sons and one daughter, and several grandsons and grand- daughters, with an ample though not large estate-the fruit of honorable effort and persevering industry.
"The estimate of the court and bar of the county is well reflected in the resolutions adopted the morning after his death. They evince the prevailing sentiment in all circles in which the distinguished deceased was known, and consti- tute a certificate of public and private worth such as few receive or deserve."
On the day after his decease, the court having convened, Charles W. Kelso feelingly announced the death of Mr. Sill, and on behalf of the bar presented resolutions touching the event.
Mr. Elliot, the senior member of the bar, moved their adoption, adding his own high estimate of the character of the deceased, with whom he had so long been contemporary. Messrs. Walker and Marshall and Judge Thompson suc- cessively followed with eulogies upon the deceased, evincive of their high admiration of his character.
The President Judge (Hon. John Galbraith) responded in like terms, whereupon the court adjourned. The deep feeling and sympathetic attention of the vast audience dur- ing the entire ceremony attested how sincerely the deceased was respected by the people among whom he had so long resided and who had known him so well. The resolutions adopted will close this notice.
" WHEREAS, We have just learned the death of the Hon. Thomas H. Sill, the oldest member of the bar in this judi- cial district, and it is due to the professional eminence and personal worth of the deceased that we, his professional associates, should bear our public testimony to his talents and many estimable traits of character; therefore,
" Resolved, That we, the members of the court and bar of
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Erie County, have heard with sincere regret the death of one whom for many years we have regarded as the father of the profession in this county.
" Resolved, That while we regret his death, we find in his history and character much that is worthy of our emulation, professionally and personally. With a mind of more than ordinary quickness and clearness, stored with varied and extensive professional and general knowledge, which com- mands the respect of all capable of appreciating unobtrusive intellect, he united a kindness of nature, a mild dignity of character, a rigid fidelity to truth and integrity, a tender re- spect for the feelings of all with whom he was associated, which secured for him the affectionate regard of all who knew him.
" Resolved, That in whatever of the varied and honorable positions our much-revered friend and associate was placed, whether as a man in the sacred retirement of the domestic circle, as a public servant intrusted by the people with public duties, or as a practitioner of law, through a long, eminent, and successful course, we point to him as an example of the usefulness and honor which will ever attend the high-minded and honorable discharge of the duties of our profession.
" Resolved, That we tender to the family of our deceased associate our most sincere sympathy in the loss they have sustained by the death of one whose traits of personal character were most endearing and best appreciated in the sacred privacy of the domestic circle.
" Resolved, That we, the members of the court and bar of Erie County, will attend in a body the funeral of our deceased associate.
" Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the minutes of the court, and that we will wear crape on our left arms for thirty days as a tribute of respect to the deceased.
"Ordered by the court that a copy of these proceedings be furnished the family of the deceased."
Engraved by " Buttre, N.
Sanforde
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GILES SANFORD was born in Norwich Farms, now Frank- lin, New London County, Connecticut, September 18th, 1783, and with his father's family removed to Herkimer County, New York, in 1801. Mr. S. came to Erie to reside in 1810.
The Sanfords in the days of Roger Williams (1636) . were punished and banished from the Plymouth Colony on account of their religious faith, being Quakers, and found refuge in Rhode Island, then called Providence Plantation.
In 1814 Mr. Sanford formed a mercantile partnership with Mr. R. S. Reed, which continued until 1824. In 1823 the firm in his name was contractor for supplying the mili- tary posts of Fort Dearborn, (Chicago,) Mackinaw, St. Mary's, and Fort Howard, (Green Bay.)
Mr. Sill and Mr. Sanford were delegates to the Canal Convention, which met at Harrisburg, (in 1824, we believe,) and which convention gave the first impetus to internal im- provements in the State.
Mr. Sanford has ever been a zealous and disinterested friend of public improvements, has done much for the pro- motion of agriculture and horticulture in the county, and contributed liberally to benevolent and Christian enterprises. In consequence of his business connections, habits of obser- vation and general information, he has rendered valuable assistance in this work.
JOHN GALBRAITH was born in Huntingdon County, Penn- sylvania, August 2d, 1794. His father was a soldier of the American Revolution, and took part in the battle of Long Island, where he was taken by the enemy, and being, with many others, imprisoned in New York, he there suffered hardships and privations, from the effects of which he never fully recovered. He resided in Huntingdon County after the war and until the year 1810, when he removed with his family to Butler County, Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his life. He gave to his children such oppor- tunities for learning as were attainable in a new and thinly
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settled country. The subject of this sketch early exhibited a fondness for study, and although the facilities afforded to him were but meager and limited, he yet managed to acquire a liberal education.
Like many others who have attained a prominent position, he at one time, and when yet quite a youth, taught a coun- try school. He studied law in the office of General Wm. Ayres, of Butler, at that day one of the leading lawyers of Western Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar in the year 1819. He began the practice of his profession soon afterward at Franklin, Venango County. He soon took a prominent place as a lawyer and acquired a large practice. In 1828 he was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature, and was twice re-elected. In 1832 he was elected to Con- gress, from the district at that time composed of the Coun- ties of Venango, Crawford, Warren, and Erie. He was re-elected to Congress in 1834, and again in 1838. On the expiration of his third congressional term in 1840, he re- sumed the practice of the law at Erie, to which place he had removed in the year 1837.
In 1851, the Constitution of the State having been so amended as to require the election of judges by the people, Mr. Galbraith was placed in nomination by the democratic party as their candidate for President Judge of the Sixth Judicial District ; and, although his party was in a very decided minority in the district, he was elected by a large majority-a marked evidence of the great personal popu- larity he always enjoyed. He continued to discharge the duties of his new position until his death, which occurred from a stroke of paralysis, on the 15th of June, 1860.
Judge Galbraith died universally lamented. Few men in the State had a wider circle of acquaintance than he. Of remarkably gentle disposition and winning manners, he had a strong hold upon the popular heart. He was always the friend of the poor.
As a lawyer, he was studious and learned, rather than
Illman Brothers
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brilliant. He was never a fluent speaker, although very successful as an advocate. As a judge, he was distinguished for his thorough knowledge of the law; but it was more particularly in the administration of criminal justice that he was noted for a humane and discriminating appreciation of his duties. Avoiding the heartless and indiscriminate . severity, which appears by many to be regarded as indis- pensable in the treatment of offenders, he always sought to temper justice with mercy, and, if possible, to reform as well as to punish.
It was as a judge of the criminal courts that his atten- tion was drawn to the defects in our present penal system, and some of which he sought to remedy by his project of an Industrial Reform School. The charter for this institution was obtained by his efforts, and its list of managers num- bers some of the most respected and honored names in the country.
In accepting the office of President of the Industrial Re- form School Association, Judge Galbraith thus referred to the design and principles which it embraced :-
"My position has been for a period of forty years, during a large portion of it as a practicing lawyer at the bar, and the last seven years occupying the bench as president judge of the criminal courts, often necessarily and intimately asso- ciated and in counsel with all grades of at least several classes of the unfortunate human beings it is the purpose of the law and the organization placed under our management to cure of their diseases-as it were to 'cast out the devils' from them, and restore to usefulness as citizens, and to hap- piness and even to honor as individuals, rather than crush and destroy by unnecessary and vindictive punishments.
"The law under which we are organized confers large and extensive powers-immense powers of doing good. It embraces a large class of the unfortunate and destitute, and has been pronounced by some of the wisest heads and most benevolent hearts of the country as containing more of the
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advantages for a reformatory institution than any in the known world, and one which may, with proper management, be made a model institution. The act contemplates an in- stitution, not so much one of charity and benevolence merely as one of wisdom and policy, depending upon the develop- ment of practical Christianity for its success. Not strictly a charitable institution alone, yet resting for its support and successful result upon true Christian charity and enlarged love of humanity.
"The basis upon which it rests, although not entirely experimental, is so to some considerable extent. It pro- poses to make labor, industry, an element, the main element indeed, of a useful and practical education, carrying out if not enforcing by penal law, under the law of family and home attraction and Christian kindness, the deeply signifi- cant article in the laws agreed upon in England, by the wise and philanthropic founder of our State, as long ago as 1682, 'that all children within this province of the age of twelve years, shall be taught some useful trade or skill, to the end that none may be idle, but the poor may work to live, and the rich, if they become poor, may not want.' This is really the great element of all happiness, and should form the basis of all instruction, whether to children or to those who have arrived at riper years, without the benefit of any sort of useful education. It is the purpose and the plan of the institution provided for by this law to introduce labor for active practical life, suitable to the varying capacities and inclinations of those committed to its charge, as an in- dispensable element of their instruction, and that in such a manner as most to contribute to their happiness, comfort, and delight-to give to it the attractions of a home."
These extracts present a good idea of Judge Galbraith's design, and it is to be hoped that the excellent project thus originated may soon be taken up, and, with such modifica- tions as observation and experience may suggest, be carried forward to a successful issue. The condition of the prison-
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ers in many of our county jails would excite the surprise and sympathy of those around them, were public attention aroused and facts made known. A long period often elapses before trial, during which the accused, and sometimes inno- cent party, is doomed to the companionship of corrupt and hardened offenders. The position of many a man at his discharge from these prisons is such that nothing but a home and a word of sympathy is needed to strengthen his good purposes and support his first efforts to amend ; while for the want of such assistance he sinks back helplessly and hopelessly into the haunts of violence and crime.
It is one of the highest duties of a State, and the first object of law, to prevent crime ; and it would seem that this object cannot be more effectually accomplished than by the plan proposed or something akin to it, which contemplates the "educational restraint" of that large class who, from their birth upward, are surrounded by criminal temptations and associations. The object of our houses of refuge is to apply this educational restraint at as early a period of life as the circumstances will allow, and they have succeeded in a most gratifying manner in its accomplishment. Judge Galbraith's plan embraces maturer age, and an entirely differ- ent course of discipline.
Edward Livingston, in his work on Penal Law, has a noble passage that embraces the theory of our present houses of refuge as well as that of the institution proposed by Judge Galbraith.
"A besieged city," he says, "fortified on one side, leaving the others open to hostile attacks, would be a just image of a country in which laws are made to eradicate offenses by punishment only, while they invite them by neglect of educa- tion, by the toleration of mendicity, idleness, vagrancy, and the corrupting associations of the accused before trial, as well as after conviction.
"We must begin at an earlier stage in our efforts to pre- vent crime; we must relieve the extreme want which is
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sometimes the cause and oftener the pretense for crime; and we must find employment for the idleness which generally produces it."
This proposed reformatory institution enlisted much of Judge Galbraith's attention during the later years of his life, and he found in the project ample field for the exercise of his benevolent and humane feelings. He applied him- self to the heavy and thankless task with an energy and determination that deserved and would eventually have commanded success, had his life been spared.
The engraved portrait, accompaning this article, is an admirable likeness, saving, perhaps, a rather sterner ex- pression than was usual or natural for him. It will be readily recognized by all who knew him.
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CHAPTER XV.
War declared-Commodore Perry-Captain Dobbins's Correspondence- Commodore Chauncey and Mr. Henry Eckford-Mr. Brown-Difficul- ties in fitting out the Fleet-General Mead-Captain Perry at Fort George-Five Vessels brought from Buffalo-Provincial Marine Corps -Difficulties in procuring Men-Letters to Commodore Chauncey and the Secretary of the Navy-A Providence recognized in the War- Getting the Vessels over the Bar-Commodore Barclay at Port Dover -Seven of the Vessels make a Cruise to Long Point-Officers and Men from Lake Ontario-August Twelfth, Commodore Perry sails for San- dusky-Interview with General Harrison-Squadron proceeds to Mal- den-Kentucky Militia-Sickness-Letters from the Sceretary-Ohio dispatched to Erie- Strength of the British Force - The American Force-Americans again look in at Malden-Corrected Instructions for the Battle.
IN June of 1812, during the administration of James Madison, war was declared by the United States against Great Britain. The grounds given in the Message were "the im- pressment of American seamen by the British; the blockad- ing of the ports of their enemies; the orders in council; and a suspicion that the Indians had been instigated to acts of hostility by British agents."
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